The IRS and the states know how tempting it is to classify workers as Independent Contractors because of saved employment taxes. That’s why Delaware and Wisconsin are targeting the construction industry with penalties of $1,000-$5,000 per violation. Other states such as Indiana and Nevada and Ohio are starting to share information on misclassified workers and similar violations. Expect your state to be watching you for misclassifying employees as Independent Contractors. Determining a workers’s status depends on the facts that define both the entity and relationship of the entity to the worker at the time that the services are rendered. Here are the two categories of workers that the IRS and states are focusing on:Common Law Employee - Works for and performs services under the control of the entity that pays for the services.Independent Contractor - An individual in business for him-/herself whose services are free of control from the entity paying for the services. Employment taxes app…

“I opened a new checking account, but ran payroll checks through the old checking account in QuickBooks. How do I fix them?”

This is so easy to do....and the answer is simple...here's how. Go to Reports->Banking->Check DetailIn the upper left hand corner of the report, select MODIFYSelect the date range and filter for the the bank account that you incorrectly posted the checks toReturn to the reportDouble-click on each check in the report to bring it up on your screenChange the bank account in the upper portion of the check form to the desired bank accountPress SAVE & CLOSE to complete the correction and return the to modified reportWhen the report is empty, you will have moved all the checks to the correct account.

Finally, double-check each bank account register to be sure that you have properly reassigned the transactions you wanted to correct.

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Recently, a client asked me about the IRS and what they might look for in an audit.

* He keeps great records and is very careful not to "co-mingle" funds.
* All cash received is deposited to the company business checking account.
* And, in an effort to better control cash purchases, he has opened a separate bank account that he funds periodically from the business operating account.
* He then carries the ATM debit card for that account and makes "cash" purchases with that card.
* Additionally, all workers are either employees or licensed contractors.

I found a great article from Wells Fargo that I think provides a great check list for some of the most common issues the IRS may consider when reviewing a business file in an audit. Here is an excerpt from that article:

In the case of audit, be aware that the IRS training manual tells its auditors that they are examining you, not just your tax return.

It's time to start thinking about end of year procedures. One of those for me is verifying payroll to assure that there won't be any problems when it comes time to prepare W-2 forms.

There is a great tool in QuickBooks called the Payroll Summary Report.

You can find that in the Report drop down menu at the top of the main window in QuickBooks. From there, select Employees & Payroll and then select the Payroll summary.

You can use this report to review totals by employee and for your company. Additionally, you can review payroll-related liabilities & expenses by employee and grand totals for the company by date range or for the year to date.

I generally print this report every time I create a payroll and keep that report in my Payroll Book and I always keep a final year-end copy with my payroll records and employer copies of quarterly reports & W-2's.

I hope this tip is useful. Please tune in again for another QuickBooks Gal Minute.